Lord Marquis,
We, the undersigned in the permanent Civil Service of the Colony of Hong Kong, employed in the Treasury Department, beg most respectfully to submit for Your Lordship's consideration what we humbly conceive to be a grievance of which we are justly entitled to complain and in respect of which, having failed to obtain redress locally, we seek Your Lordship's assistance.
The Department has recently been reorganised with a view, as we believe, to the reduction of expenses. The first clerk and cashier has resigned and taken his pension. The second clerk and accountant has been promoted to the position of first clerk and combines the duties of cashier and accountant. The third clerk becomes second clerk and combines the duties of his present and former appointment. We, the fourth, fifth, and other clerks, and the notice server, naturally expected promotion in due course to the positions of third, fourth, and fifth clerks with the ordinary increase of pay. We have been set aside in favour of gentlemen, Mr. Cuentra and Mr. Emedias, who are not in the permanent Civil Service.
We beg leave to hand herewith a copy of a letter addressed by us to the Head of Department for submission to His Excellency the Governor, laying our grievance before him.
Hong Kong, 6th February 1892
Treasury EC 21 MAR 93.
C. O.
4.637
266
B.